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Archive for August, 2013

On average this year Americans will eat more than 140 pounds of sugar. Hard to believe? Not really when you start looking at the sugar content in some of these popular foods and drink that your dentist won’t eat… and will advise you to do the same!

All over the country, the temperatures in yoga classes are going up… and up… and up! The newest fitness craze is Hot Yoga, where yoga fans are downward dogging in studios where temperatures vary from 90 degrees to 105 degrees.

While there are a number of concerns about the practice of Hot Yoga – including dehydration, heat exhaustion and heat stroke – quite a few experts have been researching the effects that Hot Yoga has on people’s bodies.

Researchers tested the core body temperature of people in a normal yoga class and then again while they were in a Hot Yoga class. Besides sweating more (obviously) there were no other differences in the subjects’ core body temperature and other variables the researchers tested.

The highest body temperature recorded in the study was 102.4 degrees, which is below the zone – 104 degrees – where heat exhaustion, fatigue and other heat-related problems begin to exist.

Subjects did say that they found the Hot Yoga classes more challenging overall, but both classes are still considered to be a form of light exercise.

While Hot Yoga did not prove to cause any heat-related conditions like heat stroke and heat exhaustion, researchers cannot stress enough the importance of staying hydrated.

You should drink lots of water before, during and after any yoga class, but especially a Hot Yoga class so that your body can better regulate your core body temperature. Researchers also note that it can take your body anywhere from 10 to 14 days to acclimate itself to exercising in a heated condition, so be sure to monitor how you feel when participating in Hot Yoga, or any other heat-related exercise.